Reader-selector instrument for ultra-high reduction microfilm

ABSTRACT

A reader-selector instrument for indexing and serially displaying graphic materials stored in micro size to accommodate 100 to 400 pages of standard book size material on the film insert of conventional aperture cards. A mirror and lens system incorporating heat dissipation and full image rotation capabilities provides 24X to 150X short path magnification in an instrument for desk top or hand held usage that will display each page image in regular size on a screen positioned for convenient viewing. Projection to a desk top reader position or to a wall display is also possible. A selector mechanism having a base or zero position return feature uses fixed position cam index pins and follower plates that are mounted for two dimensional freedom of movement of mechanically select and locate any desired page image on the aperture card film insert or to serially move to successive page images. A zero or base position adjustment is provided to compensate for minor discrepancies in the mounting position for the film insert. In the 400 page configuration quadrant positioning of page images on the film insert is used, and quadrant selection is additionally incorporated in the selector mechanism.

United States Patent [191 Crew READER-SELECTOR INSTRUMENT FOR ULTRA-HIGHREDUCTION MICROFILM Inventor: Wynn D. Crew, Denver, C010.

[73] Assignee: Microtech Press Inc., Lakewood,

[22] Filed: Dec. 30, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 214,096

[52] US. Cl 353/95, 353/27, 353/55, 353/56, 353/57, 353/ [51} Int.Cl.... G031) 1/50, G03b 23/08, G03b 21/16 [58] Field of Search 353/25,27, 85, 86, 22,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,552,211 5/1951 Perillo353/ 2,570,507 lO/l95l Andreoli 353/55 2,852,980 9/1958 Schroder 353/553,175,461 3/1965 Brownscombe 353/95 3,191,490 6/1965 Rabinou 353/353,442,581 5/1969 Smitzer 353/27 3,588,240 6/1971 Asano 353/85 3,720,4633/1973 Taylor 353/27 Primary Examiner-William D. Martin, Jr. AssistantExaminer-A. J. Mirabito Attorney, Agent, or FirmC. B. Messenger [57]ABSTRACT A reader-selector instrument for indexing and seriallydisplaying graphic materials stored in micro size to accommodate to 400pages of standard book size material on the film insert of conventionalaperture cards. A mirror and lens system incorporating heat dissipationand full image rotation capabilities provides 24X to short pathmagnification in an instrument for desk top or hand held usage that willdisplay each page image in regular size on a screen positioned forconvenient viewing. Projection to a desk top reader position or to awall display is also possible. A selector mechanism having a base orzero position return feature uses fixed position cam index pins andfollower plates that are mounted for two dimensional freedom of movementof mechanically select and locate any desired page image on the aperturecard film insert or to serially move to successive page images. A zeroor base position adjustment is provided to compensate for minordiscrepancies in the mounting position for the film insert. 1n the 400page configuration quadrant positioning of page images on the filminsert is used, and quadrant selection is additionally incorporated inthe selector mechanism.

7 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures FATENTEU I 3 I975 SHEEI 1 BF 6 INVENTOR.WYNN D. CREW In mm ATTORNEY FMENIEU NARI 81975 sum 3 or 5 QEZQNEQIINVENTOR. WYNN D. CREW ATTORNEY inKTHHEU 3.871 .759

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sumsp Fug. 1Z0) INVENTOR. WYNN D. CREW ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention is concerned with the orderly presentation ofgraphic materials in a manner that will utilize present developments andtechnologies. Related prior art developments include the printed pageand the bound volume or book, insofar as-the printed page is an orderedpresentation of graphic materials and a book is a serial presentation ofrelated pages that makes indexing or search operafions easier. Theinvention is also related to microfilm and microfiche developments whichhave previously made it possible for the materials of a printed pagev tobe reduced in size for preservation'on film whereby the bulk size ofmaterials previously presented in page or book form can be substantiallyreduced. For indexing and mounting purposes, aperture cards and otherfilm mounting devices have been used for the convenient preservation ofthe film images for later and convenient retrieval of desiredinformation.

In connection with microfilm, microfiche and aperture card developments,previous inventions have been directed to means and apparatus forsorting and redisplaying or copying the stored materials. In generalsuch previous selection devices have either relied on mechanicalmanipulation, as where the microfilm is unreeled from a storage spool,or on electrical or electronic selection of individual film frames.Other selection systems utilizing aperture cards or microfiche jacketsare concerned with the location of single or multiple page film mountingdevices. Once the proper aperture card or microfiche film card orenvelope or jacket has been selected, however. individual usermanipulation is usually required for the selection and display of eachseparate page presented by the carrier film. The selection ofthe actualpage to be displayed and of each successive page to be viewed thereafterrequires hand manipulative operations that are not fully satisfactory.Even where guidance is provided by a grid index card, successive imageselection or page to page stepping is usually not regulated or automaticand, accordingly, the serial presentation of successive page images isnot facilitated.

Within the scope of prior developments it is possible to present all ofthe materials that normally would be provided in a book on a single filmsheet. With a reduction ratio of 24X, a 6 inches X 4 inches microfichecard could contain 98 letter size pages. Accordingly, a full length bookofjust under 400 pages could be presented on four microfiche cards. Withgreater reduction ratios the materials of a full length 400-page bookcould be presented on a single microfiche card of the same size.

The weight and bulk advantages of such present developments arerecognized, but it is not believed, however, that these advantages willencourage the extensive publication of book type materials in thismicrofiche type presentation. Problems are still involved in the fieldsof cataloging such a microfiche book for easy selection, use andduplication, and it is not believed that reader or user requirements areat present fully satisfied by the desk type readers or reader-printerswhich utilize microfiche cards or jackets. The mentioned problems ofindividual image or page selection and the step presentation ofsuccessive pages are believed to present barriers to the widespreaduseage of presently existing formats in substitution for books thatreader-user's can hold at desk level or in the lap for convenientobservation. The bulk size of present readerselector units and anassociated problem in the limited positions for image display arebelieved to be factors limiting the more wide-spread useage. A systempresenting improved solutions to the outlined problems that will alsoimprove indexing and retrieval operations while again reducing the bulksize of both the required apparatus and the stored and catalogedmaterials is believed to be advantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As an adjunct to the development of a new book"publishing field, the present invention seeks to incorporate the sizereduction advantages of microfilm together with the film mounting andcatalog and retrieval conveniences of aperture cards. lmages presentingan entire book of or 400 pages are disposed in ordered sequence on thefilm strip of a single aperture card. A projector-selector instrument isprovided which facilitates the selection of any desired page and whichfurther makes the serial presentation of successive pages convenient andefficient by providing a mechanical stepping mechanism which moves thefilm strip and aperture card a distance corresponding to the reducedsize of a single image page. The projectorselector instrument is allembodied in a minor sized package which may be positioned for convenientreader viewing on a desk top or in a reader's lap. Notwithstanding thesmall size of the projector-selector instrument and its convenience ofuse, a short path magnification system is incorporated that provides upto l5OX magnification. The page images are enlarged in a light pathextending from the aperture card film insert to a viewing plane from asize of L5 by 2.0 millimeters on the film up to by 280 millimeters as afull size page image at the viewing screen. The optical system alsoincorporates a full image rotation feature to facili' tate the viewingof page materials that may have been initially printed at other thanstandard orientation. Additional elements are provided for thedissipation of the intense heat associated with the high magnificationlight path.

The selector mechanism utilizes paired selector plates that are free tomove individually in reciprocal paths guided by a cross slotted carriagethat is joined to an aperture card support mount. Movement of eitherselector plate causes movement of the carriage a corresponding distanceand direction. With this arrangement the film strip of the aperture cardis moved with respect to the light source and magnifying lenses adistance corresponding to the conjoint movement of the selector plates.With the page images arranged in ordered rows and columns, seriallynumbered keys and associated cam pins disposed on the selector mechanismare used to engage cam slots in the selector plates and to move theplates one step at a time if the cam pin keys are pressed in serialorder. One set of keys controls horizontal movement of one selectorplate, while a separate set of keys controls vertical movement of theother selector plate. The carriage moves any resultant course anddistance as determined by the keys depressed. or it can be moved freelyalong horizontal. vertical or diagonal paths for random page selectionor location. A base point return is provided to move the carriage toreference positions that corresponds to a first or other image page. Azero or base point adjustment is also provided to coordinate the exactpositioning of the film images with respect to the card support mountand to compensate for any minor errors in the mounting of the filminsert in the aperture card. Once a correcting adjustment has been made(if necessary), any desired page can be immediately located by pushingthe keys corresponding to the page number. The cam pins associated withthe keys can only be depressed when the corresponding cam slots of theselector plates are in proper position. since the cam pins will notengage any other cam slots. After the desired page has been located.other adjacent or following or leading pages can be serially presentedby depressing the row keys one after another in the desired serialorder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevation in partialcross-section showing features of an assembled embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken through an aperture card and carrier.

FIG. 3 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevation taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3with parts broken away,

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic plan representation corresponding to theorientation shown in FIG. 3 and illustrating the correlation of theselector plates and an aperture card and film insert,

FIG. 6 is a partial bottom view showing further features of the selectormechanism of FIG. 3,

FIG. 7 is a partial elevation showing the key operated cam pins and anassociated selector plate,

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation showing the orientation of oneselector plate and its arrangement with respect to a 100 format aperturecard film insert.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic representation showing the orientation of oneselector plate and its arrangement with respect to a 400 format aperturecard film insert with the film insert being at an increased scale.

FIG. 10 is a cross-section through a selector plate taken along the line]0-l0 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a cross-section through a selector plate taken along the linellll of FIG. 8.

FIG. I2 is a detail taken along the line 12-12 of FIG. 7 showingfeatures of a quadrant selector device.

FIG. I3 is a perspective view showing application of a viewer to theprojector-selector assembly of FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. I4 is a layout light path for the embodiment of FIG. 13,

FIG. 15 is a representation showing the layout light path for a desk topprojector type of viewer display, and

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram presenting an electrical control circuitfor the unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An adaptation of the inventionthat is sized for convenient usage by individuals is shown in theaccompanying drawings. The unit 2! shown in assembled relation in FIGS.I and 3 includes a projector component 22 which includes a light sourceand optical elements and a registrator or selector assembly 23 formoving the film strip of an aperture card from one page image to anotherfor the convenience of the user. In these Figures the aperture card 24is disposed in an aperture card carrier 26 in such manner that the filminsert 27 of the aperture card will be disposed between a lower filmgate orsupport disk 28 and an upper film gate and focus adjusting disk29.

Whole page images are disposed on the film strip insert itself inpatterns as set forth in FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively, depending uponwhether the IOO-page or 400-page format is used. In both instances theportion of the film strip that is reserve for each separate page imageis determined on the ratio of 3 to 4 with the narrower dimension beingreserved for the page width and the longer dimension for the pagelength. In the I00- page format there are rectangular spaces that may beidentified from 0 to 99. With this format a page width on the film stripis equal to 3 millimeters and the page length is 4 millimeters. Theseparate image page spaces are arranged in ten horizontally disposedrows and ten vertically disposed columns. In the first row theidentified page spaces run from 0 to 9. while in the first column theidentified spaces run 0, I0. 20 to 90. With this arrangement if page 46,for example. was to be located, it would be in the 40 row. which is thefifth row down, and it would be in the seventh column directly beneathpage 6 of the top row. (See the X on FIG. 8.)

Since the film strip size for a standard aperture card is 35 by 47millimeters and the total view area thereof for a 100-page format is 30by 40 millimeters. it is obvious that a selector mechanism that is to beused to locate any particular page will have to be carefully andaccurately designed and fabricated. The mechanism illustrated isintended for efficient satisfaction of such objective. In fact. it isactually intended for use under even more stringent conditions, as wherethe 400 image page format, as shown in FIG. 9, is to be used. In thisparticular arrangement pages 0 to 99. 100 to I99. 200 to 299 and 300 to399 are disposed in separate quadrants of an aperture card film stripthat is the same overall size as the one used in the IOO-page format.With the 400-page format, however. the reduced size of each image pageof material is 1.5 millimeters wide and 2.0 millimeters high. In otherwords. within the capabilities of the entire system in which the presentprojector-selector is to be used. the conventional Sk-inch by ll-inchprinted page can be reduced to an image size of 1.5 by 2 millimeters onthe microfilm strip.

The total systems approach associated with this invention is concernedwith reducing all of the printed words or diagrams on a conventionalsize page to this small image size for record keeping and storagepurposes. The projector-selector mechanism of the present invention isconcerned with locating and displaying any desired page so that anindividual user may read and study the materials of the selected page.Thereafter and once a selected page has been located. it is a furtherpurpose to provide a mechanism that will facilitate the displaypresentation of pages following the selected page or the pagesimmediately and serially ahead of the selected page. Selector 23 isdesigned for the satisfaction of these objectives. Additionally. it isconsidered an advantage of the selector mechanism that these pagestepping operations are accomplished mechanically and without the use ofelectrical or electronic circuits. Further. in order to provide a readeror projector and selector mechanism combination that is convenient foruse by individuals. it is desirable that the total mechanism be smallenough so that it can be held in the user's hand, or in his lap or on aconvenient bench or table. These features relating to the total size ofthe mechanism are believed to be of considerable importance, since theoverall system is intended to be directly competitive withconventionally bound pamphlets and books which, of course, can be heldfor convenient viewing by individual users.

The mechanism of the present invention is intended, therefore, to notonly retrieve and display whole pages of printed material as a wholepage that is of a size so the separate printed words or any diagrams areas large as the size in the original materials, but further to providesuch a display derived from the film strip of an aperture card where theactual image of a full page is as small as l.5 by 2 millimeters. Withthese combined requirements, projector 22 has to provide a substantialamount of light and magnification, and selector 23 has to provideaccurate page image selection and positioning.

THE SELECTOR FIGS. 1 through 12 show features of the mechanisms utilizedto select the individual page images. Such mechanism will initially bedescribed in connection with the lOO-page format as presented in FIG. 8.For this format and for purposes of discussion considering the rows asbeing horizontally disposed and the columns vertically positioned, theselector must be capable of moving in horizontal directions on a step bystep basis as when page images 0 through 9 are to be observed.Similarly, the selector must be capable of moving the film stripserially in a vertical direction as when pages 0. ll), 20 to 90 are tobe observed.

In addition to providing a capability for the stepped movement from onepage to the next succeeding or leading page, the mechanism desirablyshould be capable of accurately locating any desired page so that suchindividual page can be presented for viewing by the user. lf page 46,for example, is to be located, it should be possible to move themechanism to this page by a stepping operation. The film insert of theaperture card could be moved vertically to the 40s row, and individualstepping could then move the card horizontally until page 46 isdisplayed. For some uses it is believed that this type of steppinglocation could be satisfactory, but it is still not quite asadvantageous as turning the pages of a book to a desired page.Accordingly, it is a further objective to incorporate an additionalcapability for the direct location of desired pages. This objective isaccomplished by the mechanical selector embodiment presented herein.

Basically, the desired results are obtained through use ofa pluralityofcam pins 31 that are identified with separate keys and that aredisposed for mating contact in the cam slots 32 of reciprocally movableselector plates 33 and 34 which are provided for horizontal and verticaladjustments of the aperture card positioning, respectively. In FIG. 5the separate cam slots 32 are provided with number identificationcorresponding to the numbering of keys 35 as shown in FIG. 3. As shownin FIG. 7, each key is itself attached to a pin 36 that extends throughguide support elements 37 and 38 of a keyboard assembly support 39. Thekeys may be moved vertically against resistance provided by compressionsprings 41 when a cam slot 32 is aligned with the cam pin 31 for suchkey. When the cam slots and cam pins are directly in line, anyparticular cam pin can be fully depressed, and when fully extended, acatch 42 will be engaged by the reciprocally moving locking plate 43 tohold that cam pin and key in a locked down configuration. If the user'sfinger is removed from that particular key and a next successive key isthen pushed, the successive key will be fully depressed, the particularselector plate will be moved a slight distance and that second key willthen be locked down as the first key is released.

The stepping arrangement from one page to another is accomplished as thekeys are depressed in serial order. As an example, if page 12 has beenselected, only the keys representing pages l l and 13 or 2 and 22 canthereafter be depressed, since the cam slots representative of any otherpages are not then aligned for engagement by the cam pins. This featureis shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4, where it is seen that cam pin 3|for key 7 of the horizontal group is fully engaged, while the cam pinfor key 8 is in position so the point of the cam pin will engage thesloping sidewall of its associated cam slot. Accordingly, if key 8 isdepressed, key 7 will be released, and the downward motion of key 8 willmove the selector plate 33 horizontally until the depressed pin is fullyextended and centered with respect to its cam slot. As illustrated, thecam pin 3] associated with the key 9 is not in position to engage itsparticular cam slot 32. Accordingly, a two page stepping is notpossible. When the cam pin for key 7 is centered as illustrated, onlykeys 6 and 8 of the horizontal group can be depressed to engage theirrespective slots. If the described stepping from key 7 to key 8 isrepresentative ofa presumed change from page 27 to 28, then the onlyvertical movement controlling keys that could have been depressed whilekey 7 was engaged would be keys 1 or 3 ofthe vertical group therebyoperating to display pages l7 or 37. All other cam pins will be out ofalignment with their respective cam slots.

The effective center distance between the cam pin for key 7 and the campin for key 8 of the horizontal group corresponds to the width of animage page for the lOO-page format. This effective movement distance isestablished by the relative shape of the cam pins and the receptacle camslots. For the lOO-page form at where the page width is 3 millimeters,the effective distance between cam slots is 3 millimeters or 0.l 18inches. The vertical distance between page images is determined by theslots of selector plate 34. Stepping operations utilizing this platemust move the film strip 4 millimeters to change from one row to thenext adjacent row. Accordingly, the effective distance between the camslots on this plate is 4 millimeters or 0.l57 inches. Obviously, thekeys that operate the cam pins cannot be placed one adjacent the otheron this tight a schedule if the keys are to be manipulated by the usersfingers. An offset disposition for the keys con trolling horizontal andvertical movement has been adopted. On the horizontal movementcontrolling cam plate 33 the actual spacing between the separate camslots for the selector plate is then determined by the actual centerdistance between successive operating keys and the desired selectorplate movement to effect a one-page change in the positioning of theselector plate. Representatively, as in the illustrations of FIGS. 3 and5, the center-to-center distance for the actual keys 7 and 8 associatedwith the horizontal selector plate 33 can conveniently be %ths of aninch or 0.625

inches. The distance between the cam slots on selector cam plate 33associated with keys 7 and 8 will then be 0.7432 inches. Depressing key8 to release key 7 accordingly moves the horizontal control selectorplate 33 a distance of 0.1 I82 inches or the desired 3 millimeters. Theoffset and spacing details are the same for both the horizontal andvertical keybank assemblies. With' this arrangement the structure usedfor the keybank assemblies can be identical, and only the numberingsequence for the keys is changed. Where the keys and cam pins are allidentical the difference in desired cam movement is obtained by changingthe depth of the cam slots. Deeper slots are provided on the verticalselector so that an increased travel will be obtained.

As previously stated, the location of any page image is determined byproper selection of the horizontal and vertical keys to effect movementof the horizontal and vertical cam plates 33 and 34, respectively. Inorder to obtain the desired resultant movement of the aperture cardcarrier 26 and its supported aperture card 24, the movement of eitherthe horizontal or the vertical cam plate must provide an identicalmovement of the aperture card carrier 26. Necessarily, the cam plates 33and 34 must move cooperatively. For the described embodiment cam plate33 is mounted for straight line reciprocal movement with respect to thesupport frame 53 of selector 23. Guide rails within frame 53 engage themating tongues of selector plate 33 to accurately restrain this selectorplate for true reciprocal movement. This directional freedom of motionis, however, relatively limited, since it is only necessary thataperture card 24 be moved a horizontal distance corresponding to thenarrow dimension of its film insert 27. A carrier 56 is attached tohorizontal selector plate 33 and depends therefrom. This carrier 56supports the guide mounting rails 69 for vertical movement of carrier26. Vertical selector plate 34 is permitted to move reciprocally withrespect to frame 53 in guides 57 and at right angles to the carrier 56and horizontal selector plate 33. The aperture card carrier 26 is ineffect then joined to the vertical selector plate 34, and the verticalchanges initiated by movement of vertical selector plate 34 andhorizontal changes initiated by horizontal selector plate 33 aretransmitted to the aperture card carrier. The motion transmission,however, is not direct. since it is desirable to provide some means formaking minor adjustments in the orientation of the aperture card filmstrip and the page images thereon with respect to the light source andlens system of the projector component 22. In order to accommodate suchminor corrections in the total orientation of selector plates and filmstrip images, guide pegs 58 are provided which extend below the selectorplate 34. These guide pegs engage opposite ends 59 and 60 of box element61 of an adjustment assembly interconnector 62.

Adjustment assembly 62 includes a plate 63 which interconnects selector23 and aperture card carrier 26. As shown in FIG. 3 the plate 63 isconnected to aperture card carrier 26 by mounting screws 64. Plate 63,as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, has extension arms 65 and 66 providingsupport for horizontal and vertical adjusting knobs 67 and 68. Boxelement 61 is disposed above the plate 63 and is adapted to movereciprocally in guides 69 that are attached to the carrier 56 on facesthereof opposite the guides 57 for the vertical selector plate 34.

Box element 61 encloses a first U-shaped slide 71, the open ends ofwhich are disposed downwardly in FIG. 4. These ends closely engage theinternal surfaces of box ends 59 and 60 with the end 59 being partiallyshown. This entire U-shaped slide 71 is then free to reciprocate leftand right as illustrated in FIG. 4. A mating cross slide 72 having itsopen ends disposed upwardly engages the edges of the U-shaped slide 71and is, accordingly, constrained to move in and out with respect to theFIG. 4 illustration and at right angles to the movement for slide 71.Necessarily, the cross slide 72 is narrower than the distance betweenthe internal faces for the downwardly opening legs of the slide 71.Plate 63 is attached to the cross slide 72. A pedestal 73 extendsthrough plate 63, and it is attached to one of the sides of box 61 byuse of screws 74. In similar manner a pedestal 75 depends from theU-shaped slide 71 and extends through the plate 63. This pedestal 75 isattached to cross slide 71 by the screws 76. Each of the pedestals 73and 75 are threaded and are, accordingly, adapted to receive horizontaladjusting rod 77 and vertical adjusting rod 78, respectively. A thrustreceptacle 79 is provided by the plate extension arm 65, while a similarthrust receptacle 80 is disposed on extension arm 66. With thisarrangement rotation of the adjusting knobs 67 and 68 will cause achange in distance between their respective bearing receptacles and thethreaded pedestals.

If a minor adjustment is to be made in the horizontal disposition of animage page, the horizontal adjusting knob 67 will be rotated. If thisknob is rotated to shorten the effective length of the rod 77, the plate63 will be moved to the left in the FIG. 4 illustration. This result isobtained, since pedestal 73 is in effect an anchor that cannot be movedsince box 61 to which it is attached is restrained by the guides 69.When the plate 63 moves to the left, cross slide 72 will be moved to theleft, and U-shaped slide 71 will likewise be moved a correspondingdistance. The movement of slide 71 pro vides a corresponding movement ofits attached pedestal 75. Accordingly, pedestal 75 will remain alignedwith plate extension 66 and with vertical adjusting knob 68. When thisknob is rotated with respect to thrust receptacle 80, the length ofvertical adjusting rod 78 is effectively changed. Pedestal 75, however,is engaged to a leg of the slide 71, and this leg is itself disposedagainst the inner wall of box end 59. Box end 59 is itself engaged by aguide peg 58, and it does not move if one of the vertical selector keysis depressed to engage the cam slot of the vertical selector plate 34.Ac cordingly, rotation of the vertical adjusting knob 68 will result invertically oriented adjusting movement of the plate 63. This movement ispermitted, since the cross slide 72 is narrower than the depending legsof the slide 71 and can move in and out with respect to the illustrationof FIG. 4. Since only minor position adjustments are necessary, theholes 81 and 82 through plate 63 for the extension of pedestals 73 and75 may be rather small.

In summary of the overall purpose for the selector 23, it is stated thatthe selector provides for regulated movement of the plate 63 inhorizontal and vertical directions. The selector keys, pins, selectorplates and cam slots thereof provide movement in regulated increments.The adjustment assembly inclusive of the adjusting knobs. the boxelements and slides. etc., provide for minor position movementadjustments of a nonregulated or selective characteristic as necessaryto provide correction for minor misalignment of the film strip and thepage images thereon with respect to a desired norm.

A further characteristic of the selector mechanism that is bestexplained in connection with the IOU-page format is embodied in the factthat if a particular page is to be selected, pressure may be exertedagainst a key or keys identifying such page. As the correspondingselector plates are moved manually by finger pressure exerted directlythereagainst, the associated cam pins will ride along the top surface ofthe selector plates until the desired cam slot is under the pressed pin.By reason of the offset disposition of the selector keys and thecorresponding offset disposition of the cam slots, the pins will neverbe engaged in any wrong cam slot. In FIG. 7 where the vertical selectorkey 7 is depressed, it is seen that the cam pin 31 for this key isdirectly aligned with and engaged in cam slot 7V of selector plate 34.Slot 4V. and in fact all of the other slots on selector plate 34, areout of line therewith (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The same directionalalignment is provided for horizontal selector plate 33 and itsassociated keys. If the 7V key is depressed to engage its verticalselector plate slot, any of the horizontal selector keys may still bedepressed, and the horizontal selector plate can still be reciprocallymoved to select any page number from 70 to 79. Since both plates arebiased to return to a zero page position, this type of page selectioncan be rapidly accomplished when the indexing keys for the desired pageare pressed downwardly against the selector plates, and the plates arereciprocated along their respective guide paths.

The same described selector mechanism can be used for page selectionwhere a 400-page format is used. FIGS. 8 and 9 in part demonstrate thechanges that are made in the selector plates for these changed formats.FIG. 8 is an illustration of a l00-page vertical selector plate 34 andassociated aperture card 24 with the page distribution lay-out 87 for al00-page film strip 27. In FIG. 9 a vertical selector plate 134 for the400-page format is shown. In this same Figure the page distributionlayout I87 for the 400-page format is shown, but this illustration isprovided at an increased scale in order to avoid confusion. The actualsize of the film strip 27 for the 400-page format is identical with thesize of the film strip for the l00-page format. This film strip size isalso identical with the film size for standard aperture cards.

As shown in FIG. 9, the 400-page format selector plates are providedwith a duplicate set of cam slots 132. Accordingly, there are two camslots in position of alignment with each of the selector pins of theselector mechanism 23. The distance between the aligned cam slots forany particular selector key corresponds to the size of one quadrant forthe 400-page format. Since plate 134 is a vertical selector plate, thedistance between the cam slot 7V and 7V identified by the numerals 9]and 92 is equivalent to the distance from the top line 90 and theintermediate cross line 95 of page layout 187. If the positioning of thecorresponding horizontal selector plate is regulated for quadrants I andIII by use of a similar control knob 104 shown in FIGS. I and 3, pagesfrom 70 to 79 of quadrant I can be selected when cam slot 91 is engaged.When pages 270 to 279 are to be selected in quadrant III, cam slot 92will be engaged.

A control is provided on the selector 23 to regulate the proper quadrantselection when the 400-page format is used. An interconnected slot 93 iscut in the top face of selector plate 134. As identified, the outermostportion ofthe slot regulates selection in quadrants I and II, while theinnermost portion thereof regulates use of quadrants Ill and IV. A stopor follower mechanism for use in connection with this slot 93 is shownin FIGS. 4, 7 and 12. Control knob 94 is mounted in the frame 53 forpartial rotation. A follower 96 is disposed on the mounting shaft 97 forcontrol knob 94. Follower 96 has a stop extension 98 that may be rotatedto engage in the III-IV segment of slot 93. If control knob 94 isrotated in an opposite direction, an eccentric lobe 99, which islaterally aligned with the HI segment of slot 93, will be engagedtherewith. A spring loaded detent plunger I0] is provided or engagementin detents 102 in the face of follower 96 to hold the follower inselected positions whereby stop 98 may be engaged, the lobe 99 may beengaged, or follower 96 may be held in a neutral position. When eitherthe stop 98 or the lob 99 is engaged, the reciprocal movement ofvertical selector plate 134 is restrained, and accordingly, only one camslot can be engaged by any cam pin. If stop 98 is engaged in segmentIII-IV portion of slot 93, only the cam slot 9] will be engaged whenselector key 7V is depressed. If lobe 99 is engaged in the segment I-llportion of slot 93, only the slot 92 can be engaged. Since a similarcontrol knob is provided for use with the horizontal selector plate inthe 400-page format, the desired page selection can be restricted to anyof the four quadrants.

In order that the user may readily observe the particular quadrantselection, an indicator unit I06 is pro vided. Indicator 106, as shownin FIGS. 3, 6 and I3, has a see-through glass 107. Lines dividing theglass into quadrants are provided. Essentially the cross linecorresponds with the line of the 400-page layout 187 iilustrated in FIG.9. The separate quadrants are identified with the Roman numerals. Apointer I08 may be observed through the glass I07. This pointer movesphysically with the plate 63 on which it is mounted. An arm I09 for thepointer 108 is joined to the plate by mounting screws Ill. With thisarrangement the position ofthe pointer is, in fact, related to theactual orientation of the image page that is selected. The indicatorI06, however, will be used primarily to advise the user regardingquadrant selection.

For the 400-page format the size of each image page is only 1 /2 X 2millimeters. The stepping distance from one page to another is,accordingly, half that provided for the IOO-page format. Since thestroke for the cam pins is unchanged, the reduced motion is obtained bychanges in the design and configuration for the cam slots used in the400-page format. Further, since the stepping distance is reduced, thecenter-to-center dis tance for adjacent cam slots is also reduced. Thekeys, such as keys 7 and 8 for horizontal selection, are still %ths ofan iinch apart. The stepping distance, however. is only i k millimetersor 0.059 inches. Accordingly, the distance between the cam slots foradjacent keys, such as keys 7 and 8, will be 0.684l inches. Theeffective center-to-center distance between the cam slots for sequentialkeys for the vertical selector plate 134 will be 2 millimeters or 0.078inches, such as between slot 9I for 7V and slot 103 for 8V.

THE PROJECTOR Features of the projector component are shown in FIGS, 1,3, l3 and 16. As best shown in FIG. 1, projector 22 is inclusive of amain support body 112 of general C-frame shape providing a receivingslot 113 in which the lower film gate 28 and upper film gate 29 aremounted. The aperture card carrier 26 and its supported aperture card 24are adapted for introduction through the slot 113 with the film strip 27of the aperture card being disposed between the lower and upper filmgates 28 and 29, respectively. A small rectangular opening 114 isprovided through the film gates as a frame for confining the light fromthe projector to an area illuminating a single image page on the filmstrip for the aperture card 24. A magnifying lens 115 is accuratelypositioned above the established film gate, and cam adjusting means 116are provided intermediate the upper film gate 29 and its mounting on theprojector body 112 so that the distance between the image on the filmand the lens 115 may be closely adjusted.

For even the 62.5X lens the distance regulation for the film and thelens must be closely controlled. In fact, the combination of highmagnification and the fine focus provided by the cam adjustment isaccurate enough to provide separate focusing where images may be printedon alternate sides of a film strip that is only five mills thick. Thiscapability for the apparatus actu ally presents opportunity forproviding even an increased number of image pages on a single film stripinsert. Due to the fine focal adjustment and high magnification, thelOO-page format could actually carry 200 image pages through the simpleexpedient of providing separate image pages on opposite sides of thefilm strip. With a first adjustment all of the materials on one side ofthe film strip can be observed, and with a minor alternate adjustmentthe materials on the opposite side of the film strip will be broughtinto focus for observation. Where adequate light is provided thisdoubling of image capacity can be accomplished through use of thepresent apparatus.

Lower film gate 28 is mounted on springs 117 which constantly urge thelower film gate toward the upper film gate. At time of use then thesefilm gates of metallic material will be separated only by the thicknessof the film strip in the aperture card. The contact and non-contactfeature thus provided is used in the electrical control for projector22. Leads 118 and 119 are connected to the lower and upper film gates,respectively. When the aperture card and its film strip are removed, acircuit will be completed between the leads 118 and 119. Oppositely,when an aperture card is in position for viewing, the film gates will beinsulated one from the other, and the circuit will be broken.

Projector body 112 provides support for a fan motor 121 having an aircirculating fan blade 122 and for a light source or lamp 123. Lamp 123is actually mounted in a drawer assembly together with a cold mirror124. The drawer assembly provides a heat sink 126 that is removable frombody 112 together with the lamp and cold mirroiz fie heat sinkwlfichsurrounds and supports cold mirror 124 is preferably amulti-finned aluminum extrusion of generally cylindrical shape. Manyfins 127 are provided to extend longitudinally along the cylindricalheat sink in aligned positions parallel to the air flow from fan blade122. These fins more efficiently dissipate the heat generated by thelamp 123 and also provide flow passages for the air blown thereagainst.At the top of heat sink 126 support is provided by the fins or otherstructure for the baffle glass 128 through which light from the lamp 123that is reflected by the cold mirror 124 passes to illuminate the filmstrip. Baffle glass 128, of course, tends to block off heat that mightotherwise tend to burn the film strip. Since the projector-selector unit21 is relatively small and further since the images on the film strip 27are very small, the magnification used must be quite great. Substantiallight is required. For the combination illustrated the heat sink,inclusive of its fins, is approximately 2% inches in diameter. The lensis approximately 1 inch in diameter. The light path distance fromreflector surfaces of the lamp to the film plane is approximately 3inches, and where a 62.5X magnification lens is used approximatelyl00-foot candles of illumination will be required at the lamp side of aviewing screen. Witih these limitations an embodiment of the inventionutilizes a l2-volt 65-watt lamp which has a maximum bulb temperature ofapproximately 1,000C. In order to dissipate this quantity of heat, aclosely engineered assembly is required. The fan blade, which isapproximately 2% inches in diameter, is rotated by a fan motor at a fullload rate of approximately 7,000 RPM. This moves a considerable quantityof cooling air past the lamp 123 and the fins 127 of heat sink 126. Airis also projected past baffle glass 128 and across the fins on the baseside of lower film gate 28.

One additional feature for the dissipation of the heat. however, isdirectly concerned with the design and fabrication of cold mirror 124.This element is of a dichroic type having the front surface of a A inchthick bevel edge glass coated to provide a dichroic reflective surfacefor reflecting 90 percent of light in the visible range whiletransmitting not less than 80 percent of wave energy in the infra-redrange. Compound No. 956 provided by Liberty Mirror has been foundsatisfactory for this purpose. Necessarily, the transmission of infraredenergy substantially reduces the amount of heat that otherwise would beconveyed to the film strip. Without such a selective reflectivitycharacteristic the film strip would be burned after a too short viewinginterval.

The light that is conducted to the film plane and passed through theopening 114 is further projected through magnifying lens 115, through aprojector throat 129 and a turret assembly 130. Projector throat 129 andturret assembly 130 are mounted on and supported by the projector body112. Turret 130 is itself rotatably mounted with respect to such body sothat a' turret mirror 131 and its associated support frame may berotated. Mirror 131 is disposed at a 45 angle. Accordingly, any lighttransmitted through the film plane and lens combination to be directedagainst the mirror 131 will be projected therefrom at right angles tothe axis of the turret 130. lf required for projection or otherauxiliary viewing purposes, an auxiliary lens 133 shown only in dottedoutline may be positioned in a lens receptacle 135 provided by thethroat 129.

The projector shown is intended to be used for various viewing purposes.For some useage a light path extending downwardly through the lens maybe advantageous. In order to facilitate such alternate positioning anduses, the exterior size of a turret mount 136 and of a lower boss 137 onbody 112 may be made identical. Further. if the shoulders 138 and 139adjacent the turret mount 136 and round boss 137 are equidistant fromthe film plane established by the aperture card 24, the projector 22 maybe conveniently inverted without requiring a changed positioning for theselector component 23. Additional mounting elements, not shown, are, ofcourse, provided to hold the projector 22 and selector 2am fixedrelative positions at time of use so that only the aperture card andvarious mountings and supports and selectors associated therewith willbe moved when the various page images are to be viewed.

The utility of projector 22 is further benefited by an electrical orelectronic control system used in connection with the power source, fanand lamp components of projector 22. A schematic diagram useful inillustrating features of a beneficial operation is shown in FIG. [6. Aspreviously stated, there is substantial heat to be dissipated.Accordingly, it is desirable that the fan be on at all times that thelamp is on. However, it is also desirable that the fan should be on fora period of time after the lamp is out in order to get rid ofaccumulated heat. To accomplish this purpose and further to avoid use ofthe lamp when the unit is not being used, power to the lamp iscontrolled by the closing of contacts between the lower and upper filmgates 28 and 29. If an aperture card and its film strip is removed, noviewing purpose is being served, and, accordingly, the lamp should beoff.

As indicated in FIG. 16, the input power from a household circuit, asprovided by the cord 141, goes first to a transformer 142. Output powertherefrom at 12 volts supplies the lamp 123 and fan 121. A relay 143 isconnected to switches 144 in the lamp circuit and 145 in a primary fancircuit. When the film strip is removed and the upper and lower filmgate components 28 and 29 are in contact, relay I43 operates to openswitches I44 and 145. This cuts off power to the lamp 123 and in theprimary fan circuit, but an alternate circuit [46 is provided for thefan I21. This alternate or secondary circuit includes a time delaycomponent 147 which will operate to keep the fan running for anestablished period of time as necessary to assure cooling of the heatsink. cold mirror and other components adjacent lamp 123. In general.the time delay component and any required additional controls may beembodied on a printed circuit board 148 to be disposed within theprojector body 112. Preferably such printed circuit board and allcomponents thereon or attached thereto can be disposed in an incomingair path for the fan blade 122 thereby assuring regular and efficientoperation of such components.

When greater magnification is required, as where the 400-page format isto be used, a separate lens may be substituted for the lens 115. Toaccomplish such changeover the entire lens barrel 115 is removed and asubstitute lens barrel is provided. A lens of lX magnification issuggested for use with the 400-page format. When the highermagnification lens is used, any auxiliary lens 133 will be positionedcloser to such 125X lens. Throat 129 can accommodate such changes in themagnification path through provision of multiple lens receptacles ortelescoping assemblies. Telescoping elements will facilitate wall typeprojection operations and image focusing.

READER-VIEWERS Representative apparatus embodiments for the display ofmaterials selected by the selector and magnified by the projector areshown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. In H0. 13 a viewer assembly 154 is shownthat may be directly attached to the unit comprised of .the projector 22and selector 23. The viewer assembly includes a box enclosure 156providing support for a mirror system and a viewing screen 157. Whereeither the or 400 format is used the viewing screen 157 will be ofadequate size to display the conventional 8% X ll inch page in near fullsize.

The light path for the assembly of FIG. 13 is shown diagrammatically inFIG. 14. Here light from the lamp 123 passes first to cold mirror I24and thence through the framing openings of lower and upper film gates 28and 29. The light then passes through the lens to turret mirror 131where it is reflected by this 45 mirror at right angles into viewerassembly 154. Intermediate mirrors I58 and 159 guide the light along anextended light path to the viewing screen 157. The image page and all ofthe characters thereof may be closely focused on a prepared surface ofsuch viewing screen 157 for observation by the user. The entire viewerassembly 154 may be conveniently attached to the turret assembly 130.

The entire unit, inclusive ofthe viewer assembly 154. is actually ofrelatively small size. Accordingly. this as sembly unit may be held in areaders lap, or it may be positioned on a convenient desk or othersupport.

For convenience of useage where the printed materials on successivepages may be oppositely oriented or at right angles one to the other.the selector 23 and projector 22 may be moved one with respect to theother to rotate the aperture card and thereby change the orientation ofmaterials displayed on the viewing screen. The turret assembly may alsobe rotated with the entire viewer assembly 154 to obtain a similarresult. For other viewer arrangements the rotation of the turretassembly 130 itself with respect to the main support body H2 willaccomplish a similar reorientation of the image to be viewed.

A further and alternate light path is illustrated by FIG. 15. Here theprojector 22 would be used in inverted position, and light from the lamp123 would pass downwardly from cold mirror 124 to the turret mirror 131or other lowered reflector. This type of assembly can be used for a desktop viewer where the selector and projector are disposed on top of adesk. and the light is directed downwardly from such desk top to bereflected by an intermediate mirror 161 in a return or upward directionfor display on a horizontally disposed viewing screen 162.

For additional viewing purposes an auxiliary lens, such as the lens 133,may be used, and enlarged images may then be projected on a viewingscreen. With mirror 131 removed images may be projected to a wall orother display area. Essentially it is intended that the selector andprojector components are to incorporate features that will facilitatethese many and varied alternate uses. These components, accordingly. arereadily adapted for use with various existing types of viewers. readersor reader-printers. The compact nature of the described preferredembodiments and ofmodifications thereof particularly qualify thesecomponents for such alternate uses.

I claim:

1. A projector component for use when viewing image pages and the detailmaterials thereof that are presented in ordered arrangement at a reducedsize on a film strip comprising a support body, a magnifying lensmounted in said body, a high intensity light source supported by saidbody and projecting a beam of light therefrom along an axis angularlydisposed with respect to the axis of said lens. a pair of film gatesmovably mounted on said body adjacent said lens to intercept light fromsaid light source and providing a receptacle for said film strip betweensaid film gates, a selective reflector in the light path intermediatesaid light source and lens for differentially directing visible lightand infra-red heat energy whereby the heat energy radiates along a pathdirected away from said lens, adjusting means between a first film gateand said body, and an elastic element disposed for urging said secondfilm gate toward contact with said film strip and the said first filmgate in its adjusted positions whereby the distance between the filmstrip in said film gate receptacle and said lens may be closelyadjusted.

2. Structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said film gates are of heatconductive material providing an additional heat sink for the protectionof said film strip.

3. Structure as set forth in claim 2 wherein fin type extensions areprovided on said film gate providing added heat dissipating capability.

4. Structure as set forth in claim 3 wherein the finned extensions ofsaid film gate component have a cam surface providing said adjustingmeans.

5. Structure as set forth in claim 2 and further comprising an electriccircuit interconnected to said film gates whereby an electric signalwill be transmitted therebetween when the film gates are in contact orinterrupted when the film gates are separated as when the film strip isdisposed therebetween.

6. Structure as set forth in claim 5 wherein said electric circuit isused for the control of said light source and further comprisingadditional circuit means whereby the light will be on only when a filmstrip is disposed between said film gates.

7. Structure as set forth in claim 6 wherein said additional circuitmeans is inclusive of time delay components interconnected to said fanwhereby the fan remains on an additional period after removal of thefilm strip and the consequent turning off of said lamp wherebypreaccumulated heat may be dissipated.

1. A projector component for use when viewing image pages and the detailmaterials thereof that are presented in ordered arrangement at a reducedsize on a film strip comprising a support body, a magnifying lensmounted in said body, a high intensity light source supported by saidbody and projecting a beam of light therefrom along an axis angularlydisposed with respect to the axis of said lens, a pair of film gatesmovably moUnted on said body adjacent said lens to intercept light fromsaid light source and providing a receptacle for said film strip betweensaid film gates, a selective reflector in the light path intermediatesaid light source and lens for differentially directing visible lightand infra-red heat energy whereby the heat energy radiates along a pathdirected away from said lens, adjusting means between a first film gateand said body, and an elastic element disposed for urging said secondfilm gate toward contact with said film strip and the said first filmgate in its adjusted positions whereby the distance between the filmstrip in said film gate receptacle and said lens may be closelyadjusted.
 2. Structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said film gatesare of heat conductive material providing an additional heat sink forthe protection of said film strip.
 3. Structure as set forth in claim 2wherein fin type extensions are provided on said film gate providingadded heat dissipating capability.
 4. Structure as set forth in claim 3wherein the finned extensions of said film gate component have a camsurface providing said adjusting means.
 5. Structure as set forth inclaim 2 and further comprising an electric circuit interconnected tosaid film gates whereby an electric signal will be transmittedtherebetween when the film gates are in contact or interrupted when thefilm gates are separated as when the film strip is disposedtherebetween.
 6. Structure as set forth in claim 5 wherein said electriccircuit is used for the control of said light source and furthercomprising additional circuit means whereby the light will be on onlywhen a film strip is disposed between said film gates.
 7. Structure asset forth in claim 6 wherein said additional circuit means is inclusiveof time delay components interconnected to said fan whereby the fanremains on an additional period after removal of the film strip and theconsequent turning off of said lamp whereby preaccumulated heat may bedissipated.